Talking Sport: Powell uses his head

Trevor Watson

Eh up. Well done lad tha’s shown some commonsense. The lad I am referring to is Huddersfield Town manager Chris Powell.

When the weather turned a bit parky on Saturday with a biting wind, rain, sleet and hail getting up your kilt - fairly normal for Huddersfield - Mr Powell had the sense to cover his head with a good old flat cap.

Managers don’t seem too keen on headgear apart from Tony Pulis at West Brom, who wears a baseball cap with the peak curled in.

The last flat cap hero I can recall on the touchline was that great little character and former England star, the late Alan Ball.

Perhaps wary of what happened to poor Steve McLaren when he appeared at Wembley with England using a brolly and never lived it down, managers seem to prefer getting their hair wet.

Chris might be seeking Yorkshire nationality and a whippet is next but he used the cap in the right manner with it twisted firmly on his head.

I remember a gnarled old uncle complaining at the price of a pound for a flat cap.

He’d worked in textiles and remarked bitterly: ‘It’s nobbut a piece end.’

Piece end or not, Town should get these fashion items in the club shop and make them popular.

At least Chris Powell’s team were suitably inspired and gained a good win over Watford with Joel Lynch scoring with the type of bicycle kick defenders usually only dream about.

As Burnley manager Sean Dyche remarked when his man Scott Arfield scored a belter against QPR, ‘If Alexis Sanchez (Arsenal) had scored that it would have been shown 1,000 times on TV this weekend.’

So that’s about 996 more for Lynch’s goal to be shown.

Rugby league clubs are wasting no time returning to action with 13 pre-season games this weekend, making sure it’s an all-year round sport.

It was pleasing to see an attendance of more than 1,300 on a rotten day for Dewsbury winger Austin Buchanan’s testimonial game against Salford and says much for player ands fans.

In these days when most sign for a season and then move on, it’s great to see someone staying 10 years and supporters appreciate that, after all it’s not been all beer and skittles.

Dewsbury Moor’s finest Sam Burgess scored his first senior try in rugby union for Bath and took man of the match against Wasps. He’s slowly earning respect from the critics but shouldn’t be rushed into the England squad.

Also wearing headgear at the weekend was Liverpool’s Raheem Sterling, who sent a picture of himself wearing a coloured hat and mirrored sun glasses on a beach in Jamaica, having been sent there by his club after working hard of late.

I suppose a lot of employers do that, I bet Joel Lynch is already packed.